Ruby Prices

Parameter of Ruby Prices & Value

As long the gems are in the earth there is nothing special just raw and may be embedded into a crystal or marble. 


Understanding prices of rubies in general terms means they just follow the same procedures as any other gemstone too plus the ruby heating treatment to enhance clarity. 

Buying one of this beauty it needs intense negotiation since there are no fixed prices per carat or by any other means, there could be some guiding parameter but that's it. If anyone tells there are fixed parameter beside of the weight it's just a fairy tale to pull your money. 

Just a quick look at the ruby photo above makes it clear why it is difficult to set a price. Just watch the sizes shapes clarity colors and more all of them have other characteristics. 

What makes the price of a ruby? 

Values are interesting questions and the answer probably depends much on the individuals you ask and is mostly different with everyone. The ruby pricing is ver heavy depending on clarity and size.

The ideal stone with the highest value would be without any inclusions at all or rather just one visible under 20x plus magnification. Here is a rough guideline under a short version SNLTC -- Size (the smaller the better); number (the fewer the better): location (away from the table or face of the stone), type (the least ugly, e.g a crack is far worse than a pinpoint inclusion) and colour (no inclusion should be so contrasting as to detract from the stone's overall color). 

Another parameter is the cut which relates to a gem's proportions and the quality of its cutting. What you are looking for here is a pleasing symmetry and a good brilliance which means the percentage of bright reflective areas.

Basically, a ruby like any other faceted stone is a mirror and its color is assessed by reflected light which is created by proper proportions and proper cutting to optimize reflection and avoid 'windows', holes where the light is not returned and instead falls through. 
To achieve the best reflection a stone requires depth and the ideal proportion is a depth of 60 percent, plus or minus 10 percent. of the diameter. So you are best advised to avoid flat stones; they may look bigger than a well-cut stone of equal weight but they will not reflect light 

The spinels also are very similar but come in many different colors. When grading and estimating the value of a ruby the clarity, inclusions, weight and origin are the parameter. But for a normal buyer, it is difficult to find that out, so how to make a good guess? 

How to make the ruby price? 

It starts at the mine where they find the stones sitting on a piece of marble or elsewhere. Actually, there are several versions how to get the red stones but the first evaluation is right when they get them separated from the gravel. 

The other possibility is when a Buddhist devotee donates the piece of jewelry (such as the one on the picture down right) to a pagoda. The gold and corundum stones on it were donated to the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon Myanmar. 

How the price is raised until the customer pay here is the sales flow. When a miner sells a 5 carat raw ruby for hundred dollars per carat he is an estimate which usually happens with top notch Burmese / Myanmar rubies are sold. A small time raw buyer sell it again with 30% markup, the cutter transfer raw to cut which will increase the price to $ 850,- At he Chanthaburi gem market the stone sells for $ 1020,- carat.The Bangkok dealer for 1300,- and sell it to the manufacturer for about $ 3000,- 

The overseas manufacturer takes it for that price and sells it to the jeweler for about $ 6000,- / carat. The consumer buys it for another strange price. How they call that? The majority of people in this game are Jewish, Indian and Chinese. 

In recent years new mines have been found

The rubies ( Madagascar) are all with lower quality stones with other corundum crystals in several countries because of new exploration techniques or by pure coincidence. Although most ruby and sapphire stones can't match the ones mined in Mogok Myanmar (Burma), mainly in terms of clarity pretty material is found and used for low-end jewelry. When browsing the internet you often will find rubies which look quite similar on the screen but the price is one time maybe $ 100,- and another one $ 2000,- why is that so? That has mainly to do with the clarity and inclusions. 

Since this red stone are very prone to impurities the value jumps to "astronomical" numbers with top clarity. That are the main figures why the gems from Africa are on the low end and from Myanmar (Burma) at the high end. Most so-called "natural rubies" get through a treatment process, that includes some "enhancements or treatments" which are illegal unless it is told to the buyer. 

The first is for sure "heat treatment" to make the red stone real since the heat melts away inclusions and the stone become clearer. Which is nice but if a buyer once tries to resell the "pretty thing" and an analysis is made he/she will get much less and there is no workaround. 

Raw ruby for wholesale in Yangon

The former capital is the "gem exchange" of Myanmar although better deals can be made in Bangkok and Chanthaburi plus Mae Sot because of the higher turnover. The downside is the risk of being cheated in Thailand is much higher. Most high-quality red stones are from Myanmar (Burma), other from Sri Lanka and a lesser quality is available from Madagascar since a couple of years. 

What do most have in common? They are traded in Bangkok and Chanthaburi in Thailand. Although they extract hundreds of them every day in Myanmar (Burma) from the mines in Mogok and Mong Hsu northeast of Mandalay in "Upper Burma" top quality are only a few and large size with jewelry level clarity even much less. 

Where they are found in Myanmar (Burma)? 

Corundum stones (sapphires/ruby) and other are found in Mogok / Mong Hsu and about 200 km further north are the famous jadeite jade mines of Hpakant and sizable amber stones are available from there too. Lucky people just got rich over night but it is not easy to find the real top notch quality. 

Most ruby mines are under the control of the government, military and the raw stone buyer are mostly Chinese. They have the large sums in the back needed to cash in on the gemstone trade. Not only here, it is a secret the Chinese have how to have large sums of money available when it is urgently needed, also Indian and Pakistani have this channels, the locals rather not. 

It is very similar to the agriculture business which is totally in the hand of Indian companies who are also money lender, they refinance the whole and pick it up at harvest. Only rice is controlled by the government all other by Indian dealers who keep the farmer under control that way. Actually which basically there is nothing wrong but they have the farmers in their hands by setting low prices and high-interest rates, it's a trap they hardly can escape. A legacy of the British system because they brought them in with them. Although that's long time ago but since nothing really changed in Myanmar (Burma) last 300 years it's still the same.

A ruby is a top gemstone just as sapphire, emerald, and diamonds. The mineral is very hard; it only comes second to the diamond in terms of hardness.

The color comes in different shades of red - from pink to "pigeon's blood" red which has the highest value in terms of color, this is because of traces of chromium entered the crystal when it was formed under very high pressure deep inside the earth. The word "Ruby" come from the latin "rubber" which means red.

Actually, until the 19th Century, all red stones were defined as rubies since there were no scientific methods to look into the stones. Today a very popular substitution is spinel, even in the British crown jewels, there is a spinel which the people thought this are the real ruby.

This is the July birthstone and can be presented as a precious long lasting gift as some pretty ruby diamonds jewelry for often very reasonable prices. Some people also interpret the red color for passion and power. The stones are cut and polished into different forms and since this gem itself doesn't sparkle by itself no matter how its cut and polished usually some diamond are added to the design to give visual "fire".

Loose rubies for sale

Usual gem cuts are brilliant, step versions, oval and rectangle. If the stones are not very clear they are made into cabochon which is less priced because inclusions are crucial for the price, the less, the higher the value is.

The Ruby price

In addition to the already indicated parameter, it always has a visual component of here and there. Seeing this red gemstone without inclusion means they are either synthetic or heat treated because the heat melts the inclusions and the transparency level moves up. Since stones over around 8mm are very rare the value can get up exponentially particular when a few similar stones are needed for a necklace and bracelet. in general.

If treatments are told to the buyer before they are acceptable but most don't tell because the value is much different. There are certain mining areas such as Mong Hsu east of Mandalay where practically all red precious stones are heat treated already at the source. This is different to the minerals coming from Mogok, the major mine district in Myanmar about 120km north of Mandalay.

How to buy a ruby

Synthetic stones and others which run through a heat treatment process have almost no inclusions when you go shopping for this pretty little red thing take 10 times magnifying glass with you and a torch light to check for inclusions. When the gem has no inclusions something is wrong. 

When there is an honest dealer he or she will tell right up front what's on, but there are not so many honest dealers. What is explained here is not so visible to an untrained eye and precious item will look good, the problem starts after 2-3 years when the treated gem will deteriorate and no value left. 

Somehow strange version are star rubies and sapphire 

They come as cabochons and show a six point star, sometimes, but very rare, they even show a 12 point star when a light source is directed to them. This happens with both stones because they are physically the same only having other colors because different trace element found their way into it when the gem when the gem was formed. Sapphires come in more color versions such as pink white yellow and more.

When you are through with selecting the precious item negotiated the price and insist on having a look outside the shop in normal light since jewelry shops use special lights which can enhance the look dramatically. When buying one over about $ 500,- it is mandatory to have it evaluated at an independent lab no matter what the sales people tell or show. Be also very vigilant when buying them embedded into jewelry because in various countries, Thailand, in particular, they dilute the gold for higher profit. The best place to buy ruby gemstones and jewelry is here: